AT NOON the next day, the lookout spotted the island of Crete in the distance and shouted his discovery.
Theseus, who was on the stern of the ship at the time, closed his eyes and took a moment to himself. Now it begins, he thought.
Pirithous, standing at his side, put a comforting hand around his waist and leaned his head against Theseus’s, conveying his support without needing to speak. They often didn’t need words anymore. The touch was enough.
When they beached the ship, they were met by a large convoy of Cretan soldiers. Unlike the full armor worn by the men in Athens, Minos’s forces were clad only in bronze helmets, armguards, and boots, with deep red capes clasped with gold pins. They wore nothing else, and Theseus found it difficult to look away from their hard, glistening bodies and exposed cocks.
Most of the girls on the ship averted their eyes for it was illegal in every city on the mainland for a woman to look at a naked man. Only defiant Autolyca looked straight ahead, her face hard and emotionless.
Pirithous leaned in close to his lover. “I know we’re going to our possible deaths, but I’m definitely not complaining about the view. Still, I wonder. Their armor doesn’t seem very… practical.”
“No, it does not. I think Minos is sending a message.”
“Which is?”
“He’s asserting his dominance in two ways. First, forcing the girls to break our law by looking at naked men. Second, the lack of protection over his soldiers’ vital organs shows they don’t even consider us the slightest of threats.”
“Ah. And here I thought they just wanted to give us something nice to look at before feeding us to a monster.”
The soldiers commanded that all the tributes assemble in a straight line, and Theseus noticed his own soldiers sizing up their Cretan counterparts, analyzing their strengths, looking for weaknesses. But they did as Theseus had instructed them earlier and followed the Cretans’ orders silently.
They were marched up off the beach and a half mile inland, where Minos’s palace stood proudly against the perfectly blue sky. As they approached the door, Theseus reached behind him where Pirithous walked. He felt Pirithous’s hand grasp his and squeeze. Courage, the gesture said.
Theseus had been expecting to be brought straight to a dungeon, but instead the soldiers ushered their party into a grand celebration hall. Once the doors were opened, all of Theseus’s senses were assaulted. Rich, fragrant smells—incense, exotic flowers, the roasting of pheasant and boar—invaded his nostrils. Harp music, drums, and bawdy laughter filled his ears. But nothing could compare with what his eyes took in.
The room was full of people, men and women in all states of undress, reveling and laughing, eating and drinking. There were jugglers and acrobats, mummers and mimes. In the center of the room, a fat clown, painted all bone-white, danced a silly dance with a staff built to look like a giant penis. All around him the partygoers laughed and clapped. On another side of the room, a group of girls dressed only in sheer veils, hiding nothing, danced in a circle, clanging tiny cymbals on their fingertips. Elsewhere, two oiled-up male acrobats, wearing not a scrap of clothing, climbed on top of each other, displaying amazing acts of balance and agility. And dotted all around the room were couples copulating freely on the floor, in the open.
Against the far wall, reclining on a chaise on top of a small dais, was a man who could be none other than Minos. He was naked but for a richly elaborate chlamys, dyed a vibrant purple with a trim of white fur, and a golden crown beset with emeralds and sapphires. His hair fell to his shoulders in tight black ringlets, and his beard was long and full. Minos’s body was hard and muscled, rivaling any young man’s, and he lounged with his legs apart as though to draw attention to his cock, which twitched with a growing erection. Though his appearance was objectively pleasing, Theseus felt nothing but discomfort when spying the enemy king. More fascinating than anything else in the room, however, was the servant who stood shackled and chained at Minos’s side, for he was not entirely human. From his childhood teachings, Theseus identified the creature: the tiny horns that protruded from his mop of coarse, shaggy brown hair, the pointed ears, the ridiculously large cock, and most obviously, the legs that from midthigh down ceased being those of a man and became those of a goat.
Minos had captured and imprisoned a satyr, a creature of the forest. That was an affront to all laws of civilized men, as satyrs—like nymphs and many other creatures—never harmed mortals without provocation and were beloved by the gods, besides.
But here the satyr was, on display to a crowd, with chained manacles on his wrists and ankles. Minos had not just captured the satyr. He flaunted the fact.
Theseus wondered as to the king’s sanity.
Minos sat up a bit when the tributes entered the room, and he motioned for the soldiers to bring his captives closer to him. They herded Theseus and the others through the room and lined them up not ten feet from the king. Out of the corner of his eye, Theseus saw Autolyca stare at Minos, cold and calculating. She was appraising her enemy.
“Honored guests,” Minos said, “it is a great pleasure to receive you. As you can see, we have arranged a celebration in your honor. I know your journey here was not, perhaps, your first choice, and therefore I am determined, as a gentle and good-natured man, to ensure you enjoy your stay with us here.”
Minos’s lips broke apart in a crocodile’s smile, wicked and dominating. He saw many of the tributes stealing glances at the satyr beside him, and he turned to his captive with a flourish, as though displaying a prized gem.
“Exquisite, isn’t he?” Minos said. “And that cock. Oh, by the gods.”
Theseus couldn’t help but stare at the satyr’s cock, which was indeed the largest he’d ever seen, larger even than Triton’s. Satyrs, like nymphs, were sensual creatures, and they spent much of their existence in varying states of arousal. Likely turned on by the bacchanalia around him, the satyr’s cock was half-hard in spite of his bindings, and it hung down to his knees, almost as thick around as Theseus’s arm.
To the shocked gasps of the tributes, Minos lifted the great, heavy cock and wrapped his mouth around the tip, which was all that would fit. He suckled on the satyr’s member for a while, moaning obscenely, before releasing it and licking his lips.
“Satyr cocks just put us all to shame, don’t they, gentlemen? Oh, and speaking of which, let’s see what we have to work with. Remove your clothing, all of you. Boys and girls. Come now, quickly.”
The soldiers brandished their spears at the tributes, who slowly began undressing. Theseus was no stranger to nudity, but he burned with shame at being seen by the girls in their group. In all his grown life, no woman had seen him naked. He also knew the girls must be feeling their own shame, to say little of fear and vulnerability. He did not look at them, out of respect.
“Very nice, very nice,” Minos said, nodding approvingly. “Perhaps the finest batch that old hog Aegeus ever sent.”
Theseus shut his eyes, lest Minos see the rage flaming within them.
“And now, to provide you with appropriate attire.” Minos clapped his hands, and more guards appeared, holding large bundles of metal. It wasn’t until they were right by him that Theseus could see what they were.
Iron cuffs. The mark of slavery.
He sneaked a glance over at Iphitrion. The poor boy had just gotten out of his cuffs in Athens, right before he boarded the ship. He must be despairing to be right back in them.
Iphitrion met his eyes and shook his head. Do not worry about me, the gesture said. I am all right.
Theseus nodded his understanding and admired Iphitrion’s grit. As the guard clasped the cuffs around Theseus’s wrists and ankles, Theseus mused at the path his life had taken. He had spent his first eighteen years as a peasant farm boy, tilling the land and sowing the crops. Then, for two months, he was the prince of Athens, with all the luxuries and privileges that provided.
And now he was a slave.
No. Worse.
He was a meal.
THE TRIBUTES lined up, naked but for their iron cuffs, against a wall for the rest of Minos’s orgy. Presumably they were toys to be taken and discarded by the partygoers. Fortunately they had arrived late enough that everyone had either drank too much or had already spent their bodies with orgasm and had no energy for any more, so the tributes were left untouched.
After most of the guests had cleared out, Minos walked over to them. He had just finished fucking one of the male acrobats, and his cock, still hard in the immediate wake of spilling seed, bobbed in front of him, keeping time with his footsteps.
“Let it never be said that the king of Crete does not know how to throw a welcoming party! No need to thank me, boys and girls. I did it all for you.”
None of them spoke, wisely. It would have been immediate death to do so.
“It’s a shame your time with us will be so brief,” Minos prattled on. “But since you’re here tonight, I’d love to show you the main attraction my house has to offer. Come.”
Minos headed toward an exit, and guards appeared, ushering the tributes along, making them follow the mad king. Minos led them through several large corridors until finally reaching two massive doors, twelve feet high at least. He turned toward the tributes.
By now Minos’s erection had subsided, Theseus noticed. It made him look less threatening.
“You are quite fortunate, my young friends. Most people never get to experience a showing of this magnitude. This is something I’ve been working on for years, and now with my most recent acquisition, it is finally complete. And oh, how I do love showing it off for honored guests!”
What is he going on about? Theseus wondered.
Minos snapped his fingers at two of the guards, who approached the doors and pressed against them. With a metallic groan, the doors opened. Theseus beheld nothing inside but darkness, as black as pitch.
“Torches, if you will,” Minos said.
Several guards removed the torches that were ensconced on the walls and entered the dark room, lighting more torches and braziers inside. Minos rubbed his hands together and giggled, relishing the moment. Slowly, the room inside started to reveal itself, and Theseus made out firelight reflecting on metal. They entered with Minos in the lead, and Theseus now saw the room was lined on either side with large metal bars.
Cages.
“Welcome,” Minos said with a perverse relish, “to the famed Menagerie of Crete!”
Theseus took in a sharp breath as he looked around the room. Inside each cage, dimly lit, was a creature of wonder.
“This first trophy here is a harpy.” Minos skipped down the room as if showing off a whimsical mural. “Isn’t she delightfully hideous?”
Theseus looked in and saw a terrible beast, half woman, half bird, gray of skin and feather. Her eyes were ferocious and wild. She snapped her teeth and clawed at the cage bars ineffectually.
“And over here is a manticore, still in its adolescence.” Minos laughed heartily and pointed to a winged, lionlike creature. “Don’t get too close or it might bite your bits off!”
Pirithous approached Theseus and met his eyes. They both had the same thought: Minos was truly mad.
Minos took them down the aisle in the center of the room, pointing out his many captives. There was a lamia, a faun, a centaur—which made Theseus and Pirithous wince—all manner of mystical creatures, all of them miserable and underfed in their prisons. Theseus felt tears of rage welling in his eyes at the injustice of it. He wanted to split Minos in two right there on the spot, or even worse, toss him in one of the cages and leave him there for all eternity. Let that be his punishment in Tartarus, Theseus prayed. Let him be imprisoned like one of his trophies.
They got to the end of the room, and there was a cage covered with a large cloth.
Minos squealed with delight. “And this one, my favorite piece in the entire exhibit, came in just today, not hours before you yourselves arrived. You should feel most honored, for yours are the first eyes to bear witness to the crowning achievement of my menagerie. Behold, a very rare find….”
He grasped the cloth with his hand and tugged.
“A male wood nymph!”
The word “No!” began deep in Theseus’s chest, traveled with urgency to his throat, and reached as far as his mouth before he stopped himself.
There, in the filthy metal cage, was Daphnis.
His beauty was not diminished by the surroundings. Rather, the stark metallic gray seemed to enhance his glow, his perfect unblemished skin, and golden hair. Daphnis sat on the floor of his cage, hugging his knees. They had stripped him of his ankle holsters and quiver so that now he was truly naked, and Theseus felt his legs go weak as he looked at this perfect creature, so abused.
Daphnis looked up at the tributes with his lovely eyes, and Theseus heard several of the girls weeping with dismay at the sight before them. The nymph glanced around, and his eyes widened when they found Theseus and Pirithous.
Theseus subtly shook his head. Don’t let them see you know me. He desperately tried to send this message to Daphnis, and from the nymph’s almost imperceptible nod, Theseus knew he understood.
“You can’t see it because he’s sitting,” Minos said, “but this nymph has the most incredible ass, and I simply cannot wait to fuck it. After all, we’ve all heard of the legendary sexual magic of the nymphs. But that’s for tomorrow, I suppose, as I have already had quite the number of fuckings today. In fact, I grow weary. Come, all of you, time for bed. The celebration hall will be your bedchamber for the next fourteen nights. Well, only one of you will actually last all fourteen nights, really. I feel bad for whoever that is, having to watch all your friends disappear one by one.”
He giggled again, amusing himself greatly. “Get a good night’s sleep, for tomorrow the first of you will have the opportunity to see the only creature that’s a tad too large for one of these cages, so we built an entire labyrinth for him.”
And with that, Minos walked to the exit, and the guards herded the tributes in the same direction.
They returned to the celebration chamber and found that fourteen straw pallets, covered with blankets, had been thrown onto the floor. When the last of the revelers had left, and most of the torches were extinguished, the tributes all collapsed onto the makeshift beds.
Theseus gave them the best inspiring speech he could muster, and slowly they all drifted off to sleep. Finally it was just he and Pirithous who remained awake.
“We have to save Daphnis,” Pirithous said.
“Of course we do, and all the other creatures, as well. Even the vicious ones like the harpy and the centaur don’t deserve a life in Minos’s menagerie.”
“I agree. But how?”
“I don’t know yet.”
They kissed for a while, and Theseus thought momentarily they might make love, but they were too exposed with the girls right there, and the day had perhaps been too disturbing anyhow. Pirithous at last drifted off to sleep, but Theseus lay awake, thinking.
Finally he decided to sneak back into the menagerie. The least he could do was to offer Daphnis and the other inhabitants some words of hope.
He thought of rousing Pirithous, but decided to let his lover sleep. He would just be gone for a moment.
Theseus quietly crept out of bed and pushed into the hall, feeling very naked and wishing the perverse Minos had allowed them at least some clothing beyond the iron cuffs. As he stole down the corridor, a voice emerged from the shadows behind him.
“Did you mean what you said back there?”
Theseus froze, then turned. A figure came slowly into the light so that Theseus finally saw him. It was the satyr, still bound with chains.
“Where?” Theseus asked, beholding the beautiful creature with awe.
“In the celebration hall. I was there, in the shadows, listening. Are you truly the son of Aegeus and blessed with Poseidon’s attention? And do you truly mean to free Minos’s captives?”
“All that I said was true. I mean to rescue them all.”
“Even me?” the satyr asked.
Theseus approached him, and when he was close, he marveled at the beauty of the creature’s face, entirely human but for the horns, the ears, and the golden, shiny eyes. There was the wisp of a curly beard hanging from his chin and a light sprinkling of brown hair on his chest, which became coarser beneath his navel, leading to the unbelievable cock. Now that he was close, Theseus knew why satyrs inspired such lust. “May I touch you, satyr?”
“You may, Prince, and you may also call me by my name. Acarius.”
“Acarius.”
Theseus embraced him, intending only to show warmth and comfort, but too late he remembered they were both naked, and when their cocks pressed against each other, they both grew stiff quite quickly.
“Damn,” Theseus said. “That was not my intent.”
“I’m not complaining.” Acarius smiled.
“Nor I, and I would love to explore this”—Theseus allowed his fingers to momentarily graze the satyr’s penis—“but I must go to my friend, Daphnis, the nymph.”
“He is encaged?”
“He is.”
“Go.”
“I shall, but first to free you of these chains.”
With that, Theseus grabbed the chains that bound Acarius, and with his superhuman strength, he pulled at them. To his dismay he could not bend them.
“I don’t understand. I’m gifted with the strength of many men….”
“These chains were fashioned by the ingenious inventor Daedalus under the instruction of the Smith God,” Acarius said, sorrow in his voice. “They can only be unlocked, never broken. But it means everything that you tried. Now go. Give hope to your friend.”
Theseus sighed, disappointed. He squeezed Acarius’s arm, then turned and ran to the great doors. Like the soldiers had done, he grabbed a torch from a sconce in the wall, then pushed open the doors and entered the menagerie. He ran the length of the room to Daphnis’s cage.
“Daphnis,” he said.
Daphnis, who had been dozing, stirred. On seeing Theseus, he crept to the bars and reached out, stroking Theseus’s face. Theseus laid his hand over Daphnis’s.
“My beautiful mortal friend,” Daphnis said.
“I’m going to help you.”
Theseus grabbed the bars, attempting to bend them, but was met with the same luck as when he tried to rend Acarius’s chains. He spied a lock with a keyhole on the side of the cage and eyed it angrily. They can only be unlocked, never broken. Acarius’s words rang in his head. Clearly Daedalus had built the cages, as well.
“Damn,” Theseus said.
Daphnis touched Theseus’s shoulders. “You should return to your chamber,” the nymph said. “It is death if they catch you here.”
“I’ll find a way to rescue you.”
“I know you will.”
Theseus kissed Daphnis through the bars. “Do not give up hope,” he said, then ran from the room.
As he ran back toward the celebration hall, he saw a few guards patrolling and hid in alcoves until they passed. Theseus was desperate for a way to save Daphnis, Acarius, and the others. What could he do?
Then it struck him, like lightning out of a clear sky. Poseidon! He had granted him three calls for aid!
In a darkened hallway, Theseus raised his hands high above him, palms facing the sky in the posture of prayer.
“Great god Poseidon,” he said. “I humbly call on you in my time of need.”
Something happened then that Theseus had never experienced before. The air sizzled for a moment, like meat over a flame, and around him it felt warmer suddenly. Sensing a presence behind him, he slowly turned around.
Standing in the room with him was a gorgeous stallion of a man. He was utterly naked—yet looked not the least bit vulnerable—and taller than Theseus by almost a head. His body was covered with thick, meaty muscle; his skin was brown and smooth, shiny like polished bronze; and there was a pleasing canvas of hair across his massive chest. He was beautiful, neither young nor old, with a beard and a head of long pitch-black curls. It was the same black as his bush of pubic hair, crowning a truly mighty and thickly veined cock, and his balls were the largest Theseus had ever seen.
“God of Olympus,” Theseus said, bowing, “I am your servant.”
“Indeed.” The god’s voice rang like a sword clashing against a shield. “I know you expected Poseidon. I come in his stead. I am Ares, God of War.”
“Great god Ares,” Theseus said, not daring to raise his eyes and meet the ferocious god’s. “I am not worthy to behold your glory.”
“That’s enough fawning, I think,” Ares said, not unkindly. “Poseidon sent me, but I was eager to come for my own reasons. You are very interesting to me, Theseus. So young, and yet already so charismatic in the eyes of your soldiers that they fell over each other for the honor of accompanying you on what could very well be a suicide mission. Additionally, you were instinctively wise to Minos’s war strategies. I believe you will make a great commander of armies one day, and that has put you in my favor.”
Theseus grinned. “Thank you, great god,” he said.
“Now,” Ares said, “you were told you could ask for aid three times. What is it I can do to help you?”
“I need a key, mighty Ares. A key that will open any lock.”
“You come to face the Minotaur and you ask for a key?”
“As it turns out, there is much more that must be done here. The nymph Daphnis, a friend of mine, is held captive in Minos’s menagerie along with many other creatures. And Acarius, the satyr, is also a prisoner.”
“These are nymphs, satyrs. You are mortal. What do they matter to you?”
Theseus looked him in the eye. “They are living creatures.”
“And that’s all they must be for you to squander one of your three boons?”
“I… I don’t believe it is squandering, mighty god.”
Ares turned his head and looked at Theseus out of the corner of his eye. Then a huge smile parted his lips. “You truly are extraordinary, Theseus. But a key that will open any lock is a divine gift, indeed. Do you expect to receive it for free?”
Theseus inclined his head. “What can I give you, great Ares?”
Ares reached down, grasped his massive penis, and shook it at Theseus. “I’ve been watching you from Olympus. You seem to have acquired quite an affinity for cock in the past months.”
Theseus felt his cheeks flush. Was this beautiful god truly offering himself to him? His own cock hardened, and as he was just as naked as Ares, there was no hiding its jerking growth. The god raised an eyebrow appreciatively.
Theseus smiled. “I have, great Ares.”
“Let’s see what you can do, then.”
Theseus fell to his knees before Ares and stroked the god’s cock with one hand while cradling his immense balls with the other. He rubbed Ares’s member all over his face, then slid it into his mouth. As he happily slurped away, he reached around and cupped Ares’s powerful buttocks, massaging the muscled cheeks. He then traced his fingers up and down the cleft of the god’s ass. Ares moaned and bucked his hips, thrusting deeper into Theseus’s mouth.
After several moments, Ares withdrew himself and aggressively shoved Theseus, who fell onto his back. Ares knelt between Theseus’s legs and grabbed his cock. “There is no greater taste than mortal cock,” he said, grinning widely.
“That’s what Triton told us—aaargh!” Theseus could not finish his words, for Ares had swallowed his cock, and the god’s mouth was pure, liquid, silky pleasure running over him. He sucked and pumped Theseus with his fist, then crawled forward, straddling Theseus’s stomach. He reached behind him, grabbed Theseus’s cock, and pressed it against his hole.
“We have no oil,” Theseus said.
“Gods and humans are built differently. We have no need of oil.”
And with that, Theseus’s cock slipped effortlessly into Ares’s warm, slick hole. The god bounced up and down, his hands against Theseus’s chest. Theseus planted his feet and began to thrust, matching Ares’s rhythm, all the while repeating the same phrase in his head, over and over, in disbelief: I am fucking a god!
Ares leaned down and kissed Theseus hard, his tongue flicking aggressively in and out of Theseus’s mouth. He ran his fingers through Theseus’s curls and gripped them tightly, causing Theseus to wince. Ares was a rough lover, indeed, but then what could be expected from a god of war?
The god’s ass hammered down relentlessly on Theseus. He pressed his hands down on Theseus’s chest, then began slapping his chest and stomach. The blows stung but were not meant to cause injury. Theseus found the pain exciting and soon began to feel a tingle deep inside him.
“Are you coming, mortal?” Ares asked.
Theseus nodded, panting, “I’m about to….”
He reached down and seized Ares’s mighty cock, stroking it vigorously until the god’s eyes rolled up in his head and he shot arrows of semen to soar over Theseus’s chest, hitting him in the face and spurting even beyond, landing several feet past them. As Ares came, his hole clenched, and that pushed Theseus over the edge. Theseus came deep within the god.
Ares detached his ass from Theseus’s cock, then bent down and licked his seed off the prince’s face. He kissed Theseus hard once more, and Theseus tasted the god’s fluid on his lips. It was the sweetest taste he’d ever known, and on contact with it, his body seemed somehow more vigorous, healthier.
Ares collapsed beside him and pulled Theseus to him in a tight embrace, running his fingers over Theseus’s back, fondling his buttocks. He traced his hand from the mound of Theseus’s ass, over the sharp bone of his hip, and came to rest on his cock. He squeezed it and the last of Theseus’s juices leaked out. Ares kissed him again. Theseus felt safe, protected in the large god’s fierce embrace.
“Well,” Ares said, “I’d say you earned your gift.”
Theseus laughed and buried his face in the god’s chest, and Ares snuggled him closer. Ares’s body was so warm it was like lying beside a fire, the heat touching every part of his skin.
“I could take you with me,” Ares said, very softly now. “It is my right. I could take you as my charioteer. You could live on Olympus until the end of time, never growing old or sick. You could be mine, sharing my bed for eternity. I would see to it that you were given everything your heart could possibly desire. Would you like that?”
Theseus dreamed for a moment of the life Ares offered. He imagined himself holding the reins of the war god’s horses, driving his chariot across the sky over a battlefield while Ares flung his spears. He would be worshiped in the same way as Ganymede, the mortal youth beloved by Zeus and taken to Olympus as his cupbearer. Theseus would never know want or pain, and every day would be nothing but bliss. He could lie with Ares every night and feel the beautiful heat of his skin, the velvet softness of his mouth, the iron pleasure of his cock.
Then his thoughts returned from this dreamy realm, and he remembered why he was here. His father. His people. His mission.
And above all…
Pirithous.
“I am grateful and honored beyond words for the offer, great Ares,” he said. “But I cannot go with you.”
Ares smiled. “I knew you would say that. Still, I had to try.” The god leaned down and took Theseus’s cock, still half-hard, into his mouth once more, just for a few seconds to suck away the last of his juices. Then he kissed Theseus and stood. “That Pirithous is the luckiest of mortals,” Ares said and winked.
He then suddenly vanished, as if he had never been there, the only evidence of his being so was that slight sizzle once more in the air.
There was a faint clang behind Theseus, the sound of metal falling on stone. He turned and looked at the floor.
It was a key.